Friction shock-absorbing mechanism



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. F. O' CONNOR Filed Dec. 14, 1922 FRICTION SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISM Jan. 4 1927.

Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

UNITE STATES JOHN F. ocNnon; Y,or oncnso; ILLINOIS, Asstsnonwnr Mnsnn AssIGNMnNrsQTo" W; rr.' MINER, mc.. A' CORPORATION.' orY DELAWARE.

FnrCTI'oN' snoek-Ansonlnm iancitanisin.-

Y application inea 'December y, ,i v Y .f .f1 This inventlon relatesto improvements 1n friction shockabsorbingl mechanisms.

An object of the inventionls to provide a friction shock absorbing `mechanism espe- 5 cially adapted for railway'ydraft riggings wherein high capacity isobtained by means of a simple and economical arrangement of friction-creating elements. l

1n theJ drawings forming a" part of this specification, Figure l is ahorizontal'longitudinalfsectional View' ofa portion of a railway draftv rigging showing'mylimprovements in connection therewith. `Figure 2 lis a ver! tical transverse sectional view of the shockl absorbing mechanism proper corresponding to the line 2*-2'of Figure AndFigures@A 3, 1 and 5 Iare detail perspectives of the cen-J tra'lwfrictionblock, a wedge member andfa friction shoe respectively, employed with my arrangement. Y A l In said drawings, denotevchannel draft sills of a car underframe to, theinner faces of which Yare secured lfront stop lugs 11 and rear stop lugs 12. A portion of a'drawmechanisinproper by a hooded ,cast yoke 14 within which is disposed theshoclrabsorbing: mechanism anda front follower 15, The

39 parts are supported in operative position by a detachable saddle plate 16.1

The improved shock ,absorbinginechzmisin proper, as shown, comprises, broadly, a coml-l bined friction shell and'springjcage casting generally bythe reference character- B; a pair of friction sho-es C-C; a pair pf wedge gripping elements DfD; a central 'block E; and ai retainer bolt F.

The two friction shoes C are of'like con-y struction, each bein-g provided at its front end with a transverse bear1ng-fface/2O engageablc with the. follower 15, an outerllon-v gitudi'nally extending. flat frict'ionmsurface 21,` and three wedge facesv` 22-22, longitudinally separated' and inclined vforwardly ,of the sh'e'lltowardthe'axisthereof. Two transverse shoulders 23-23 are form-ed inwardly bar is indicated at 13, the saine being operatively associated with Vthe shock' absorbing A; a three-coil spring` resistance'designated The casting` A, as shown, is'of recta,ngularl 14j lesa. siai'no. enses-'4.

ofthe twooiuterwedge fa'c`es`22, ah'shoe: C is also'- provider onfits youter side/with a laterally. extended lug 24 at" itsI innerI end', which 'slides within acorrespndinglyshaped i groove 25 onthe inner side of the sidef wall' 60 of the shell, the lattery having stop shoulders 2 6 at the yforward endso'f saidlgrooves'to thereby.' limit! am @inward @vement or the" shoeswith respect to theshelli d Y The two wedge gripping eleinehtsfD- are' 'of like construction, each" being'l provided with Athree wedge fac-,es 1,274.27J SQP ara'ted longitudinallyI and acapted,tocoperatez with cprresp l'.-ndin'g wedge Afaces/2,2 of thewrespectilveshoes C. Each eleijnentDris further pro- 70 vided, on its innerl side, with; a' longitudinally extending iflat'surface 2'8` o 2 The central block E isin'theform of. a relatively heavy' Casting Substantiallysena,

, except'for the openings therein t aomlmo; 75

date the retainer bolt. Said block, at',its forward end, has a vtransverse facey 2.9. which normally engages the follower `15, as shown in Figure :1. 4,Said'block E iS.' furtherlpro! vided'with two opposed Vloi'i'gi'tudinallyI eJX- 80 tending fiat surfaces 30%,30 which enfgage'V with" the surfaces/'28 of the'elementsADIv As will be @parentA from an'inspectionfofFigi; ure `1, the'yinner endofthe block/EE is normall'y disposed forwardly of the inner ends'iw' of the/'eleinent'sD Y f p The spring resistance B," afs heretofore *del s' scribedhconsistsjof three coils, comprisingan. outer heavy coil 31, an intermediate' coil`32 and gafcentral v.coil The two coilsl and i 99 bear, at, their front ends upon the inner ends of the wedge elements D )and vat their rear ends,`said coils bear uponportions of,u thel casting A.The central coil 33 bears at its inner end upon a portion of the casting A195 and at-,its forward end upon theuinner Lend 34: Of the block E.' h

The retainer bolt F is anchored ati ts inner end `within a hollow blossformedintegral withlthe cvastingiA' and at itSVfQi-Wafd @ha me is anchored within a suitable recess provided in the block 4 `-As clearly shownt in F ig'ure 1, vtheshell friction surfacesonthe inner faces of thel side wallsI 1 8 and thecoo'perating surfaces 21 f5 ofthe shoesC, are converged slight-lyin-` wardly ofjthevshell. The same'is also truev of :the sets'of cooperating'faces'-28 `and 30 yon thefwedge elements `D and block E, ,re-y

spectively'. In'actual practice, the taperv or WJ' degree of convergence of the surfaces 28 and 30 will be made slightly less than tlie taper of the shell friction surfaces and those of the shoes C.

The operation of the mechanism, assuming a compression stroke under buff, is as follows. At the initiation of the compression stroke, the shoes C and block E will be engaged by the follower l5 and forced to travel longitudinally in unison therewith. As the shoes C travel down the inclined shell friction surfaces, they will be compelled to move laterally toward each other, thereby setting up a differential action on the v-Jedge elements D. T he latter', gripping the block E between them, will then act substantially as a solid unit, said unit advancing longitudinally at a slightly faster rate than the shoes C and thereby drawing the block E away from the follower 15. This action is of course yieldingly resisted by all three coils of the spring resistance l5. The differential action above described is accommodated by leaving sufficient clearance between the opposed shoulders of the shoes C and elements D, as shown in Figure l. Upon discontinuance of the compressing force, the center coil 32 acts ydirectly upon the block E to impel the latter outwardly with respect to the wedge elements D, this action being facilitated by the cooperating tapered surfaces. Furthermore, the shoes C, with the wedge unit therebetween, will be projected outwardly under the influence of the two coils 3l and 32, this action being facilitated by the relatively blunt angles of the cooperating wedge faces and the outward iiare of the friction shell surfaces. The outward movement of the parts is limited by the cooperating shoulders of the shoes and shell and also, with respect to the block E, by the retainer bolt F. Wear on the parts is automatically compensated for by the gradual outward creeping of the wedge elements D between the shoes and the block E.

l have herein shown and described what l now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, but the same is merely illustrative and l contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

l. ln a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a friction shell having interior opposed friction surfaces; of a spring resistance; opposed friction shoes cooperable with the shell and adapted to receive directly the actuating force, said shoes, on their inner faces, having wedge sections; a wedge element cooperable with each shoe; and a centrally disposed member interposed between said wedge elements, said member and elements having engaging faces extending lengthwise of the shell.

2. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a friction shell having interior opposed friction surfaces; of a spring resistance; opposed friction shoes cooperable with the shell and adapted to receive directly the actuating force, said shoes, on their inner faces, having wedge sections; a wedge element cooperable with each shoe; and a centrally disposed member interposed between said wedge elements` said member and elements having engaging faces extending lengthwise of the shell, the outer end of said member being normally flush with the outer ends of thc friction shoes.

3. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a friction shell having interior opposed friction surfaces; of a spring resistance; opposed friction shoes cooperable with the shell and adapted to receive directly the actuating force, said shoes, on their inner faces, having wedge sections; a wedge element cooperable with each shoe; a centrally disposed member interposed between said wedge elements, said memberI and elements having engaging faces extending lengthwise of the shell; means limiting the outward movement of the shoes with respect to the shell; and separate means limiting the outward movement of said member with respect to the shell.

l. ln a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a friction shell having interior opposed friction surfaces converged inwardly of the shell; pressuretransmitting friction shoes cooperable with the shell and having wedge faces on their inner sides; Iwedge elements cooperable with the shoes; a member interposed between said wedge elements, said member and elements having engaging faces converged slight-lj,v inwardly of the shell; and a spring resistanc interposed between said wedge elements and the shell.

5. In a friction shock absorbing mechanisin, the combination with a friction shell having interior opposed friction surfaces converged inwardly of the shell; pressuretransmitting friction shoes cooperable with the shell and having wedge faces on their inner sides; wedge elements cooperable with the shoes and adapted for gradual movement outwardly of the shell with respect to the shoes to compensate for wear; a member interposed between said wedge elements, said member and elements having engaging faces extending lengthwise of the shell; a spring resistance interposed between said wedge elements and the shell; and means limiting the outward movement of said shoes with respect to the shell.

In witness that l claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my name this 27' day of Oct. 1922.

JOHN F. OCONNOR. 

